


Must Love Christmas

by poppyseed_cafe



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Barista!Felix, Blind Date, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Special, F/M, Meet-Cute, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28266417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poppyseed_cafe/pseuds/poppyseed_cafe
Summary: It's the first year ever that Lysithea won't be able to go home to see her parents over the winter break. Before her roommates all leave town too, they set her up on a number of blind dates so she won't be alone on Christmas.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Lysithea von Ordelia
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Must Love Christmas

“I can’t believe you’re all leaving tomorrow,” Lysithea said. Her roommates, Edelgard, Hilda, and Marianne were gathered around their shared kitchen table for one last night of drinking before they all split up for the holidays. 

Lysithea was the only one staying in town; she had to look after a lab experiment over the break. It was prestigious, and an honor and would look great on her resume when applying to grad schools, but it was the first year she wouldn’t be able to go home to spend Christmas with her family, and to top it all off she’d be alone in the house, too.

“I’m sure you’ll be just fine,” Edelgard said in a manner which which Lysithea assumed was supposed to be comforting. “And you know you can always call us if you need anything.”

“Yeah, feel free to give us a call if someone breaks in!” Hilda chimed in. “Not sure how we’ll be able to help from halfway across the world, but hey! We’ll pick up.” She popped a maraschino cherry in her mouth.

“U-um, I really don’t think anyone will break in so please don’t be scared,” Marianne said. “This is a really safe neighbourhood.”

Lysithea slammed her drink down on the table. “Ugh! That is so not the point! I’m not a little kid, I can handle the apartment,” she said. “What sucks is that I’m going to be all alone over the holidays! We don’t even have a Christmas tree in this place, it’s depressing.”

“You should have mentioned you wanted one sooner,” Edelgard said, taking a small sip from her drink. “We could have picked one up weeks ago.”

“Also not the point!” Lysithea said, pulling at her hair. “How is it that _every single one of you-“_ she pointed at each girl to empashize each word _“-_ also have dates for the holidays too?! I’m the only one who’s going to be completely alone this Christmas.” She laid her head down on the table.

It was true; Hilda was visiting her parents with her boyfriend Claude, Marianne and Ignatz came from the same hometown so that was convenient, and although Edelgard refused to divulge any details about her partner other than she had one, whether they’d be together for Christmas or not at least they could call and text and be disgusting and cute. It wasn’t Lysithea’s fault she didn’t have a date; she had to study and she took her studies very seriously. It just wasn’t fair.

“Well, when you put it like that, it does sound depressing,” Hilda said, pouring herself another Long Island iced tea. “Okay, that settles it. We’ll set you up on blind dates so you can find a boyfriend for Christmas!”

Lysithea nearly choked on her hard lemonade. “B-blind dates? You have got to be kidding me!”

“Why not? You said you wanted a date, at the very least,” Hilda said.

Edelgard looked thoughtful, if a little flushed from the alcohol. “Yes, that could work,” she said. “What if each of us recommends someone single that we know, and after meeting each of them Lysithea can date whomever she likes best?”

“Wait–that’s–you can’t just–“ Lysithea stammered.

“Great idea!” Hilda beamed and started looking through her phone. “I have at least a couple people I can call… how about you, Marianne?”

“Um… I’ll do my best,” Marianne replied, softly as always.

“So? What do you say, Lysithea?” Edelgard asked. “Obviously we can’t do this without your consent.”

Lysithea groaned. “Well, it is extremely embarrassing but the alternative is worse, so okay! Fine! I’ll do it!” She threw her hands in the air in surrender.

“Yay!” Hilda cheered. “We’ll set up for Saturday at the coffee shop on campus, and then that gives you a week before Christmas to pick someone!”

_That’s if any of them actually want to date me_ , Lysithea thought, but she kept it to herself.

—-

Well, Linhardt was a complete dud. It seemed like he could barely stay awake during their date even with a triple espresso, and when Lysithea had asked him how he felt about Christmas, he simply said that “at least it gave him time off to sleep more.” Seriously?!

Lysithea tapped her fingers against her crossed arms while she waited for the next candidate to arrive. This one was Marianne’s choice, some guy named Lorenz apparently. This one had to at least be polite since they were friends with sweet, timid, overly-apologetic Marianne, right?

In any case, there was a certain set of criteria her would-be suitors needed to meet. Obviously, anyone insufferable could be eliminated immediately, but Lysithea also really wanted to find someone who loved Christmas as much as she did.

She didn’t care of others might think it was childish. Frankly, anyone who hated clearly had no soul and found no joy in life whatsoever and Lysithea was better off steering clear of those types. Christmas was about family, and giving, and love! Who wants to date someone who doesn’t like love?!

The bell above the coffee shop door chimed as a young man with purple hair walked in. He spotted Lysithea and swaggered over to her table.

“Since you are the only young lady with white hair here, I’m assuming you would be Lysithea?” he said politely, holding out his hand.

Lysithea stood. “Yes, that would be me,” she said. “And you’re Lorenz?” She held out her hand to shake Lorenz’s, but instead he grabbed her hand and pressed it to his lips in some gallant gesture. How embarrassing! Lysithea resisted the urge to jerk her hand away from him and surreptitiously glanced around. Oh god, the barista was staring.

“That is my name,” Lorenz said, dropping her hand and taking a seat. “Lorenz Hellman Gloucester. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“R-Right, me too,” Lysithea said, wiping her hand on the back of her jeans. Normally she would rip an arrogant guy like this a new one, but she was the one to ask him here, after all. She should at least give him a chance, right? Maybe he just made a really bad first impression.

—-

It was not just a bad first impression. Lorenz was arrogant, ignorant, and incredibly long-winded. He barely asked her anything about herself, and just talked and talked and _talked!_ Lysithea had managed to ask him what his favourite part of Christmas was, and now he was going on and on about art and the symphony and high society and charity balls?! What kind of university-aged kid got excited about charity balls?

Lysithea was pretty sure her disgust was showing openly on her face but Lorenz either didn’t notice or didn’t care. She looked at her watch far more often than was polite, but again, Lorenz was much too pleased with the sound of his own voice to notice.

After what she felt was a suitable amount of time, Lysithea stood while Lorenz was taking a breath and said, “Well, I think that’s all I have time for today, so um, bye I guess!” Too rude? Well, who cares.

“My, is it that late already? Well, it has certainly been a pleasure speaking with you today, Lysithea. Here, take my business card – you’re welcome to call me any time you like!” Lysithea swiped at the card before Lorenz could try and kiss her hand again. “Until next time! Merry Christmas!”

And finally, _finally_ , he was gone.

The barista who was wiping a nearby table looked over at her. “Are you having an aneurism? because you look like you’re having an aneurism,” he said.

Lysithea slumped into her chair under the barista’s – Felix, according to his name tag – bemused gaze. “Ugh, I hope so,” she said, cradling her head in her hands. “Then I wouldn’t have to sit through any more of these horrible blind dates. What was _wrong_ with that guy, anyway?”

Felix smirked. “Not a fan of all the Christmas talk, huh? Can’t say I’m a huge fan either. It’s all just a big show of capitalism, in the end,” he said, before looking up at Lysithea and freezing at her expression. “Uh… did your aneurism get worse?”

Lysithea exploded. “I can’t _believe_ this! What is wrong with this entire town? Or is there something wrong with me that’s attracting all the Christmas haters?” she ranted. “No, I don’t hate Christmas, I love Christmas! That last guy was just so obsessed with all the wrong _parts_ of Christmas. And also he was generally an ass.” She folded her arms. “All right then, why is it that _you_ hate Christmas so much then, Mr. Humbug?”

“Uhh..” Felix took a step back, seeming to sense a fight he didn’t realize he had walked into. “I wouldn’t say that I hate so much as, I just don’t really like it? It was never a big deal in my family, and it’s all a little too corny for me. Can I get back to work now?”

Lysithea sighed. “I suppose,” she said, but then kept ranting anyway. “It’s just - Christmas is about love, and family, and light and warmth when it’s cold and dark outside. What could you possibly hate about that?”

Felix grunted from behind the counter. It was starting to get late, and it was just the two of them in the cafe now. “So love and family is why you’re out here speed dating the week before Christmas, then?”

Lysithea bristled and flushed at the sarcasm in his voice. “Well, I –“ The door jingled open again. “Oh, that must be the next guy.”

“Another one?” Felix said with his back to the storefront. He turned around as the next candidate walked in and – “Wait, this is the next guy?”

The young man in question with a shock of red hair, leather jacket and inexplicably wearing sunglasses when it was already getting dark inside, walked up to Lysithea’s table and smiled, pulling his sunglasses down his nose. “Hey beautiful,” he said, looking around the cafe. “Since it’s just the two of us here, I guess you must be Lysithea– wait, Felix?” His eyes grew wide when they fell upon the barista.

Lysithea whipped her head around to face Felix who was staring back at the red-haired boy with his arms crossed.

“Why are you so surprised?” Felix asked flatly. “You know I work here. And I told you to stop dating here, I’m sick of watching it.”

“Hey, I didn’t pick the location!” the red-haired man retorted, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

“Wait, do you two know each other?” Lysithea asked, eyes moving between the two.

“Yep, this here is Sylvain Gautier, serial womanizer and playboy,” Felix said. “I don’t think you wanna date this guy.”

Sylvain sighed and pushed his sunglasses up into his hair. “Well, this is awkward. Do you still wanna do this, or…?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Hilda said you wanted a date for Christmas. I’m not good for much more than that, but if you want, I’m still down.”

Lysithea let out a ragged sigh and sank down onto her table. “You can just go, I don’t think this was a good idea anyway,” she said. “Thanks a lot, Hilda,” she mumbled under her breath.

Sylvain stood awkwardly for another minute before nodding and heading for the door. “Well, Merry Christmas, I guess!” he called from the door. “Seeya later, Fe.”

The door jingled shut and silence fell upon the cafe as the sky outside fully darkened. Well, silence except for the canned mall-pop Christmas music playing on the cafe speakers.

Lysithea slowly put on her coat and grabbed her purse. What a bust. She trudged over to the counter and pulled out her wallet; may as well get some sugar and caffeine for the road. “Can I get a gingerbread latte with three pumps of chocolate sauce?”

Felix side-eyed her from behind the register. “You’re gonna get diabetes before you’re thirty, you know that right?” he said, but he started on the drink anyway.

“Well, today sucked. I need a pick me up,” Lysithea said. As the machines whirred, an idea started to form in her head.“Hey, are you free next week?”

Felix smirked ashe poured her latte. “Why, you couldn’t get a date so now you’re asking the barista?”

Lysithea felt her face burning. “I-I don’t mean like that!” she spluttered. “I just thought maybe I could show you some of the things I love about Christmas. It would be fun! But if you’re busy or think I’m gross then just forget it.”

“Hey, I didn’t say I wasn’t available.” Felix slid the to-go cup across the counter.

“Really?” Maybe that sounded too eager. Well, whatever. Lysithea grabbed a scrap of paper out of her purse and scribbled a note. “Okay, meet me at this address on the 23rd at 7pm.” She picked up the cup. “What do I owe you?”

Felix took the piece of paper and glanced at it before meeting Lysithea’s gaze once again. Suddenly it struck her what pretty eyes he had, with long eyelashes. 

“It’s on the house.”

—-

**Golden Eagle House Chat**

**Hilda:** Soooo how were your dates? ;)

**Lysithea:** terrible. you all have awful taste in men.

**Marianne:** Oh no, I’m so sorry! Umm,, Lorenz can be really nice once you get to know him, I promise…

**Lysithea:** I don’t think I could ever know him well enough to not want to punch him in the face.

**Edelgard:** Oh dear, I am very sorry to hear that, Lysithea. So you were unable to find a date for Christmas, then?

**Lysithea:** well… no. The barista was cute though.

**Hilda:** Oooo details, details!!

—-

Lysithea stood back to survey her handiwork. It’s true, she had spent more money on decorations than she had ever intended for the season, but it was fun and kept her busy, and she really did feel more cheerful with everything done up like this.

Now the question was, would Felix actually show up? And what would she say if he did? Inviting him over was so impulsive and incredibly unlike Lysithea. What if he wasn’t impressed? Or bored? Lysithea felt herself blush for at least the fifth time that day. It wasn’t like this was a date. But maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if it was one… At the very least she would like another look at his eyes, see if he was as cute as she remembered.

“Hey.” Lysithea jolted at the sound of Felix’s voice coming up the sidewalk beside her. She turned to face him, but his eyes were fixed upon the scene she had created: the most spectacular display of Christmas lights she had ever created in her life.

She had of course lined all the eaves, windows, and doorways on the townhouse the “Golden Eagles” rented (don’t ask Lysithea how they named themselves that, it must have been Hilda’s idea). But she’d also set all those lights on a timer to seem to moved around in loops, and she’d set up a lit up sleigh complete with all 8 reindeer – she wanted to put them on the roof, but she deemed it too unsafe to do alone. Then there were twinkling lights in a blue-white hanging down to look like snow falling, and the corner piece of the whole arrangement was a massive sign in green and red that read, “Believe” in cursive script.

“Hi,” Lysithea greeted him back. While Felix stared at the lights, she stared at him. The soft glow of the lights illuminated his face, and the butterflies in Lysithea’s stomach intensified. 

They stood in silence for a moment, until Felix turned his head toward Felix and Lysithea suddenly snapped back to the house so he wouldn’t think she was staring.

“So, is this what you wanted to show me?” Felix asked. Lysithea risked looking back towards him and yup, those eyes were just as nice as she remembered. Maybe nicer, with the Christmas lights sparkling in them. “Well, this is certainly impressive, I’ll give you that.”

The butterflies turned into tingles rushing up her spine. “This is only part of what I have planned for tonight,” Lysithea said, trying hard not to stutter out of sudden nervousness. “But thank you, I think I’ve really outdone myself here, if I do say so myself.”

Another silence fell and Lysithea felt compelled to fill it. “I’ve always just felt like there’s something kind of magical about Christmas lights. Something about setting up lights during the darkest time of the year, and setting them up outside so everyone passing by can share them.”

Felix nodded. “They do look nice,” he said.

Oh, he was probably getting bored, right? And cold! It was cold outside. “U-um, would you like to come inside? I’ve got some other stuff in there,” Lysithea said, inching toward the door.

“Sure,” Felix said, and followed her inside.

Inside was even more decorations: garlands of greenery, candles, and some more fairy lights for good measure.

“How about some hot chocolate? I’ve got some ready on the stove, made with real chocolate!” Lysithea said, heading to the kitchen.

Felix followed behind her, taking in the atmosphere. “I’m not really a chocolate guy, it’s too sweet for me,” he said, but he took a seat at the table anyway.

Lysithea dropped the ladel she was holding and rushed to the pantry. “Oh, wait! I’ve got a dark chocolate recipe that you’ll probably love then, it’s not sweet at all!” She zipped back over to the stove again to heat up the milk and chocolate.

“Uh, you really don’t have to,” Felix said, watching her race around the kitchen. “I don’t even know if I’ll like that stuff either.”

“That’s okay!” Lysithea said from the stove. “It’s worth a try.”

“Really,” Felix said, “you don’t have to do all this for me–“

“But I want to!” Lysithea spun to face him and immediately turned red. “I mean–I just–I just want to,” she finished lamely.

The pause that followed was awkward, the two of them looking anywhere but at each other.

“So, you home alone then?” Felix asked, then seemed to flush at the implication of the question. “Er, I didn’t mean–“

“Yes, I am home alone,” Lysithea replied. “I don’t think you’re about to attack me or rob me or something, I don’t mind you asking.” She stirred the pot of milk and melting chocolate. “It’s actually the first year I’ve ever been alone at Christmas. Every other year I’ve gone home to see my parents, and even my roommates all left for the holidays. So it’s just me.”

Felix nodded. “So you set all this up just for you, then?”

Lysithea kept her face to the stove so he wouldn’t see her blush. “Um, no, actually,” she said. “I wasn’t going to do any decorating because it seemed too depressing. I just did all this this week.”

“Wait, so then… you did all this for me?” Felix asked, incredulous. Lysithea nodded as she brought the finished dark hot chocolate to the table and sat down. “Why?”

“Well… I guess I kind of don’t know. Maybe it’s because Christmas is about doing nice things for other people,” she shrugged. “Okay, go on! How do you like it?”

Felix took a hesitant sip, then looked up in surprise. “Hey, this is actually pretty good! How did you do that? I usually hate chocolate.”

“Have you never had dark chocolate before?” Lysithea teased. “Seriously, 80% cocoa barely tastes like chocolate at all…”

“No, I haven’t, but I hate chocolate,” Felix retorted, but then relented. “This is really good though, thanks.”

Lysithea helped herself to some of her original recipe, and they drank in silence for a moment, more comfortable this time. “Thanks for coming over,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if you were actually going to come.”

“I’m not one to flake,” Felix said. “And I was curious what it was you were going to show me. I guess I can kind of see the Christmas appeal.”

“Really?!” Lysithea leaned forward eagerly.

“Yeah, I mean,” he gestured around the room. “It’s not really one specific thing here. It’s just the… being together part, I guess. My brother died when I was a kid, and after that my parents were never really into doing anything as a family. So… this is kind of nice.”

“Oh. I’m sorry,” Lysithea said.

“Whatever,” Felix said, not meeting her eye. “It was a long time ago.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for having me over, and doing all of this. Sorry none of your dates worked out, though.”

Lysithea must have looked like a tomato at this point. Why would he even bring that up?! “Ugh, seriously, my friends all have terrible taste!” She couldn’t meet Felix’s eye. “I was kind of hoping to go to the tree topping event on campus on Christmas Eve though. You know, where they make a big deal of lighting the big tree in the square, and putting a big star on top? It kind of seems like the kind of thing that’s lame to go to by yourself…”

Ugh, she was rambling now. Why did he have to bring up the blind dates at all? It was so awkward she might just spontaneously combust.

Felix ran his finger along the handle of his mug. Oh man, he must think she’s so pathetic –

“I’ll go with you.”

A beat. Lysithea looked up at him with wide eyes. “Really?!”

—-

A gentle snow was falling over the quad at Garreg Mach University, where a crowd had gathered to watch the lighting of the massive Christmas tree in the center. They’d even hired a choir to sing Christmas carols before the big event.

It really was a big old corny affair, but Lysithea loved it. It wasn’t the Christmas she had wanted, or expected, but there was a little magic about standing there in the snow and lights with Felix, who despite claiming to be a Scrooge had given Christmas a try, just for her.

The crowd began to applaud as one of the event organizers began to climb the giant ladder to place the shining star atop the tree, and Lysithea turned to look up at Felix. Sensing her movement, he turned to look back at her.

“Merry Christmas,” Lysithea said.

Felix nonchalantly reached down to slip his hand into hers, and her heart felt like it might explode. “Yeah. You too,” he said.

**Author's Note:**

> At the beginning of the fic, here's what everyone is drinking:  
> Hilda - Long Island Iced Tea  
> Lysithea - Hard lemonade  
> Edelgard - Red wine  
> Marianne - let's be honest, she probably doesn't drink. She probably has a Shirley Temple or something.
> 
> I hope the ending doesn't feel too rushed but I wanted to get this up before Christmas! I wanted to whip up a little one-loves-christmas-the-other-hates-it type of Christmas special vibe and I hope you enjoyed :)
> 
> Get some rest, stay safe, and have a happy holiday season! Merry Christmas! xo


End file.
